Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 1, 2025
Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm
Published on: May 15, 2019
Preference for Dynamic Human Images and Gaze-Following Abilities in Preterm Infants at 6 and 12 Months of Age: An
Masahiro Imafuku1,2, Masahiko Kawai3, Fusako Niwa3
1Graduate School of Education, Kyoto University.
Insights
Preterm infants show less attention to social cues and reduced gaze following compared to full-term infants. These early differences in visual attention may predict later social communication challenges.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Preterm infants face increased risks for social communication deficits, including autism spectrum disorder.
- Infant preference for social stimuli is a potential predictor of later social development.
- Limited research exists on the relationship between early social attention and later outcomes in preterm infants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate gaze behavior differences in preterm versus full-term infants at 6 and 12 months corrected age.
- To assess preterm infants' preference for social stimuli and gaze-following abilities.
- To explore the correlation between visual attention to social cues and gaze following in both groups.
Main Methods:
- Eye-tracking tasks were used to measure infant visual attention.
- Two tasks assessed preference for biological motion/geometric human forms and ability to follow gaze.
- Participants included low-risk preterm and full-term infants at 6 and 12 months corrected age.
Main Results:
- Preterm infants exhibited reduced looking time toward dynamic human images at both 6 and 12 months.
- Preterm infants demonstrated less frequent and shorter duration of gaze following.
- A positive correlation between social visual attention and gaze following was observed in full-term but not preterm infants at 12 months.
Conclusions:
- Preterm infants display atypical gaze patterns, including decreased social stimulus preference and impaired gaze following.
- These early visual attention differences may be linked to the heightened risk of social communication problems in preterm populations.
- Further research is warranted to understand the long-term implications of these findings for early intervention.
Abstract:
Preterm children are reported to be at higher risk of social communication problems such as autism spectrum disorder compared with full-term infants. Although previous studies have suggested that preference for social stimuli in infancy is a possible indicator of later social communication development, little is known about this relation in preterm infants. We examined the gaze behavior of low-risk preterm and full-term infants at 6 and 12 months' corrected ages using two types of eye-tracking tasks, which measured 1) preference for social stimuli by biological motion and human geometric preference and 2) ability to follow another's gaze direction. We found that preterm (compared with full-term) infants at both 6 and 12 months of age spent less time looking toward dynamic human images, followed another's gaze less frequently, and looked for a shorter time at an object cued by another. Moreover, we found a positive correlation between looking time toward dynamic human images and frequency of gaze following at 12 months of age in full-term, but not preterm, infants. We discuss the relation between the atypical patterns of gaze behavior in preterm infants and their higher risk of later social communication problems.
